An autonomous vehicle is a motorized vehicle that can navigate without a human driver. An example autonomous vehicle can include various sensors, such as a camera sensor, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor, and a radio detection and ranging (RADAR) sensor, amongst others. The sensors collect data and measurements that the autonomous vehicle can use for operations such as navigation. The sensors can provide the data and measurements to an internal computing system of the autonomous vehicle, which can use the data and measurements to control a mechanical system of the autonomous vehicle, such as a vehicle propulsion system, a braking system, or a steering system. Typically, the sensors are mounted at specific locations on the autonomous vehicles.
Autonomous vehicles can be implemented by companies to provide self-driving car services for the public, such as taxi or ride-hailing (e.g., ride sharing) services. The self-driving car services can increase transportation options and provide a flexible and convenient way to transport users between locations. To use a self-driving car service, a user will typically request a ride through an application provided by the self-driving car service. When requesting the ride, the user can define a specific pick-up and drop-off location, which the self-driving car service can use to identify the route of the user and select a nearby autonomous vehicle that is able to provide the requested ride to the user. The self-driving car service can then deploy the autonomous vehicle to pick up and transport the user to the drop-off location. Upon reaching the drop-off location, the user can disembark the vehicle and continue to their final destination.
Unfortunately, the pick-up and drop-off experience of users can be confusing and unclear. For example, when picking up users, autonomous vehicles do not always pull over at the location the user anticipates. This can be due to various reasons including traffic and environment conditions, for example. In addition, current ridesharing applications often do not have accurate vehicle location and wait time information. Thus, users can have a difficult time finding their requested autonomous vehicle at pick-up, and are frequently left searching for their ride when the estimated time of arrival comes and goes. Moreover, current ridesharing applications do not provide contextual information to explain why the vehicle may be behaving in a particular way. As a result, users are often left frustrated when a vehicle is shown as stuck or waiting in an undesirable pick-up location.